Green Urbanism
Green Affordable Housing
Over the past decade, Global Green USA has established itself as a national leader in promoting green building practices in the affordable housing community. Through our Greening of Affordable Housing Initiative, we work extensively with non-profit community development corporations, architects, financial institutions, and government agencies at the local, state, and national level.
Green affordable housing directly benefits individuals and families in need by reducing energy bills and creating healthier living environments. Affordable housing developers and operators gain through higher quality, more efficient, and more durable buildings.
Zero Energy Affordable Housing
Overview
A zero energy building or net zero energy building is a term used for a building that greatly reduces its energy demand via efficiency measures and then meets that demand through on-site energy generation, typically solar. Zero energy buildings are gaining considerable interest as a means to cut greenhouse gas emissions and conserve energy.
Global Green has developed a business model to develop zero energy affordable housing that is now being used throughout the state of California. This business model, and a suite of resources Global Green provides to support the model, lowers and stabilizes utility bills for low-income families, while allowing affordable housing developers to reduce operating costs and maintain a healthily portfolio of affordable properties.
Publications
Green Urbanism Program Case Study: Los Vecinos
Los Vecinos is a 42-unit affordable housing project that meets nearly all of its annual electricity demand through 93 kW of on-site solar photovoltaic power. Located along a light rail line in the southern part of the San Diego metropolitan area, this LEED Platinum certified project is the second Zero Energy Affordable Housing project in the State of California. The project, located on the site of a former dilapidated motel that had the largest number of police calls for any single address in Chula Vista, is a testament to what can be accomplished by a determined development and design team that stands by its commitment to extremely high performance standards. Released March, 2010.
DOWNLOAD
Green Building Criteria in State Low Income Housing Tax Credit Programs, 2009 Update
Global Green's review of the low-income housing tax credit allocation policy shows significant progress being made in the effort to make green building measures standard practice in affordable housing. This development is particularly apparent through a summary of the changes over the last five years to the green building criteria found in state Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs), which states develop to guide the distribution of federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). For the first time since we started the analysis in 2005, all 50 states were shown to exhibit some aspects of green building in their QAPs. To learn more, download our 2009 report here.
Here are links to Global Green USA’s QAP reports for the previous four years:
Click here for 2008
Click here for 2007
Click here for 2006
Click here for 2005
DOWNLOAD
View All Green Urbanism Publications
